Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Superstructure
All
structures
above
internally and externally.
substructure
both
a) Frame
The purpose of any framed buildings is to
transfer the loads of the structure plus any
imposed load through the members of the
frame to a suitable foundation.
This form of construction can be clad externally
with lightweight non-load bearing walls to
provide the necessary protection from the
elements and to give the required degree of
comfort in terms of sound and thermal
insulation.
Framed buildings are particularly suitable for
medium and high rise structures and for
industrializes low rise buildings such as single
storey factory buildings.
Frame consists essentially of pairs of columns
with members spanning between them, spaced
apart to enclose the volume of the building.
ii.
iii.
ii.
Flexibility
in
plan
and
building
operations because of the absence of
load-bearing walls at any level
iii.
Structural Materials
The materials which are commonly used for
framed structures are steel, concrete, timber
and, aluminum alloy all of which have
characteristics which make them suitable for
this purpose in varying degrees according to
the building type and nature of the structure.
b) Upper Floors
Functional Requirements
The main function of a floor is to provide
support for the occupants, furniture and
equipment of a building.
Therefore, the floor must satisfy a number of
requirements in its design and construction
such as below;
1.
important in respect of
are often required to act
fire barriers between the
building.
Sound Insulation
Thermal Insulation
5.
Solid Floors
Suspended Floors
Timber Floors
The timber floor has advantages of light selfweight and of being a dry form of
construction. It is simple to construct and this,
7
Concrete Floors
of
Its use is now normal in most forms of multistorey building, particularly because of the
requirements in respect of fire resistance which
apply to such structures.
It provides better sound insulation than the
timber floor and for this reason it is used
8
Steel Floors
10